Enclave
by figaro2
Summary: Torchwood/Doctor Who crossover. After receiving a mysterious message and artifact from the Doctor, Jack goes on an unexpected trip.
1. Chapter 1

"Is this it?" asked Gwen, puzzled.

Ianto and Owen, breathing hard from lifting the item from the car and dragging it down the stairs, nodded.

"So …. why did the police think it was alien, particularly?" said Gwen, walking around the table the object now sat on, studying it from different angles.

"Because the fellow who handed it to them said it materialized from thin air," Owen replied. "Of course, he could be a nutter."

"He's an ex-police officer," said Ianto patiently.

"There you are then," said Owen.

"Watch it!" objected Gwen, elbowing him.

Tosh entered the room. "Oh good, is this it?" She stopped. "It's a cube."

"Glad you're here to tell us these things, Tosh," said Owen.

"Shut up Owen." Tosh repeated Gwen's actions of circling the table. "It's completely featureless." She touched it. "It's warm."

"Yes we noticed that," Ianto said.

"Appears to be metal," Tosh continued, obviously thinking aloud. "I wonder if it's solid, or maybe a container … then how to open it?" She went to her desk and started to tap on the computer. "Some kind of power source to generate heat … try a basic scan to start with …" she murmured to herself.

"Well, that's Tosh occupied for the rest of the day," commented Owen, as the others moved away.

"It's a bit like that movie," said Gwen. "You know, 'what's in the box'?"

"So long as it's not someone's head," said Owen.

"Or an alien's head," Gwen added ghoulishly. "Mind you, we really shouldn't be complaining about a slow day. Just savour the moment." She looked around. "Where'd Ianto go?"

"Off tidying something, I expect," said Owen.

"No coffee for you, then, Owen?" said Ianto, re-appearing with a tray of mugs.

"Where's our fearless leader, then?" asked Owen, helping himself to a mug.

"Wondering why Tosh is the only one doing any work," said Jack, entering the room..

"Where've you been?" asked Owen.

"In the archives, Owen," said Jack. "Why don't you ask me what I was doing there?"

Owen subsided. "Touchy," he muttered, as Jack went over to the table.

"It's a cube."

"Everyone keeps saying that," said Gwen, amused.

"Funny," said Jack. "Tosh?"

"Just setting up a scan now," said Tosh.

"Hmm," said Jack. "Wonder what kind of metal it is?" He touched it. "It's warm."

Tosh looked around. "Yes, we noticed that." Gwen and Ianto nodded. "Not emitting any harmful radiation though," she continued.

Jack was about to respond when a metallic voice suddenly emanated from the cube, making them all jump. To their surprise the voice spoke in English. "DNA analysis complete. Identity is confirmed. Jack Harkness."

"Umm …" said Gwen. Jack shrugged.

The top of the cube suddenly dematerialised as if it was never there. Jack approached cautiously. "Could be a booby trap," called Owen.

"I think it would already have blown up if it was," Jack replied, and cautiously looked into the interior. "Hmm," he said again. He lifted out a piece of equipment about half a meter square, which he placed on the table next to the box. He then reached in and removed another item, about half the size of the first.

Everyone had gathered around by then. "What are they?" asked Gwen.

Jack looked at the item on the table. "I have no idea what that is, but this," and he held up the item he was carrying, "is a holorecorder."

"A what?" asked Gwen.

"A message," suggested Tosh. Jack nodded.

"Well, let's hear it then," said Owen.

"Maybe it's a private message, Owen," Tosh pointed out.

Jack shrugged, and pressed a button on the device. A beam of light shot out, and resolved itself into a flat image, projected in midair.

They were looking at a man sitting in a chair. Very little could be seen of the background, and the man was partially turned away from them, saying, "Watch the door," to someone they couldn't see.

"Umm, isn't that ...." Ianto began.

"It's the Doctor," said Jack softly.

As the Doctor turned towards the camera, they noticed first that his hair was long and he was bearded. He looked thin, very tired, ill, and there were some signs of scarring and bruising on what they could see of his skin, most obviously a large bruise discolouring his right cheek. He was wearing a sleeveless tunic of undyed rough weave. He looked slightly up and to the right. "Is it running?" He then looked straight at the camera. "Hello Jack. We don't have much time so I'll be brief. I need you to take this machine and lock it up on one of your vaults, the more secure the better. Don't run any tests on it. Don't even scan it. If you do you could activate it, and that … could attract the attention of beings you don't want anywhere near your world." He paused. "I'll come i… when I can, and …" he looked up and to the right again, and gave a slight smile, "I'll explain everything then." His smile suddenly widened. "Give my love to Martha." He looked back up and nodded. The picture winked out.

Owen was the first to break the lengthy silence. "There's a man who knows he's in trouble."

"Not quite what I expected," said Gwen.

"I don't think he was at his best, somehow," said Ianto, drily.

Jack put the recorder down, and lifted the artifact back into the box. "I'll just go and find a spot for this."

"Do you want a hand?" Ianto asked. Jack nodded.

Tosh silently shut down the scan she had been preparing, and the others said nothing as Jack and Ianto left the room, carrying the box between them.

They didn't speak to each other much until they had stored the box in one of the vaults, and Jack had sealed the door. They stood outside, looking at each other. "Are you alright?" said Ianto.

Jack nodded. "Nothing I can do for him."

"He was going to say 'if'," Ianto said. "'If' he can, not 'when'."

"I noticed," said Jack.

"Are you alright?" Ianto repeated.

Jack responded by putting his arms around Ianto and leaning his head on Ianto's shoulder for a moment. Ianto just held him silently.

Finally Jack let go, and they turned to leave. "Do you have any idea what that thing is?" Ianto asked.

"Not a clue."


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: this is kind of an AU in that Martha is known to the Torchwood team but Owen is not a zombie (because I am in denial about the killing off of characters I like - even if they're still around!!)**

The SUV turned into a lane lined with trees, and moments later they pulled up in front of a cottage, with a second car pulling up behind them. Owen and Gwen got out of this car, while Jack, Ianto, and Tosh exited the SUV.

"The Unit helicopter should be here in a few minutes," said Jack. "Gwen, you did tell the couple to hide in the cellar, didn't you?"

"Of course," said Gwen.

Ianto was helping Tosh unload some equipment from the SUV, while Jack circled, scanning. "Looks like it's that way." He turned to the group. "Ianto, I want you to stay and meet the Unit people, then follow us. Dr Jones will be with them. The rest of you, let's go." He entered the woods, Tosh, Owen and Gwen following with the equipment.

"Wouldn't kill him to carry something," Owen muttered.

Ianto headed towards a field near the house, where the helicopter was now circling to land. Martha was one of the first out, and came towards him, along with a Unit Captain.

"Ianto, hi," she said. "This is Captain McMahon."

Ianto introduced himself, shaking the man's hand. "Captain Harkness and the rest of the team went to locate the anomaly."

"Right," said McMahon. "We got a sighting from the air." He turned to issue some orders to his team, and then turned back to Ianto. "Lead on."

"A hole in midair, the man said," said Gwen. "I suppose it's as good a description as any."

"Funny looking thing though, isn't it?" Owen responded.

The hole was about two metres in diameter, black shot through with swirls of gray. Tosh set up the last scanner, and opened her laptop, as Jack walked carefully around it. "These readings," she said. "It doesn't make sense. Jack, it's …"

"It's a wormhole," said Jack.

"How is that possible?"

"Interesting question," said Jack. "But right now I'm more interested in the whereabouts of the aliens who are apparently using this as a way to commute."

Ianto, Martha and Captain McMahon arrived at that moment. "Jack," said the Captain.

"Mike," said Jack.

"I think we may have spotted your aliens on our way here, thirteen bodies heading this way."

"Returning?" said Jack. "It's some kind of scouting expedition then."

"I have them …oh!" exclaimed Tosh.

"Oh?" asked Jack, going to look over her shoulder at her screen.

"They were there and then they were gone," said Tosh, confused.

"Shielded?"

"Must be," said Tosh. "I'll try to match the frequency."

"I've already told my guys to spread out and start moving in the last direction we saw them," said Mike. Suddenly he paused, and listened into his headset. "They have a what? Alright, let yourself be seen, but just a few of you, and be careful, don't open fire unless they do." He looked at the others. "They have a hostage. Elderly male."

"From the cottage, I'll bet," muttered Owen.

"We should have checked," said Gwen.

"Quiet," ordered Jack.

There was the sound of distant firing. Mike immediately moved in that direction, talking into his headset. Jack ordered Tosh to stay put and continue her data gathering, and instructed Gwen and Ianto to stay with her. He then caught up with Mike, Martha and Owen following. "I have to get a look at them."

Mike nodded, still listening to the reports on his headset. "We have casualties."

As they approached the sound of firing, both bullets and energy weapons, they came across a wounded man. Owen conferred briefly with Martha, and they agreed on moving the wounded to the cottage. A little further on they found a dead soldier and another who was badly wounded. Jack left Owen, and continued with Mike.

They ran into the remainder of the Unit detachment, falling back through the wood. A sergeant ran up and reported. "Bullets are bouncing off their armour, sir. We tried some of those cyber weapons, but that's glancing off as well."

"Who started the firing?" demanded Jack.

"They did, sir," said the sergeant defensively. "The moment they saw us."

"What about the hostage?" asked Mike.

"It's kind of strange, sir," said the sergeant. "They're not using him as a hostage. They're almost … protective of him. The poor old guy looks terrified."

"Protective?" repeated Jack, a half-forgotten memory niggling at the back of his mind. Something was familiar about this. "I need to get a look at them."

"They're a trigger-happy bunch, sir," said the sergeant. "You might want to keep your head down …"

Jack nodded, and moved cautiously through the trees, crouching down behind some bushes as he heard footsteps ahead of him. He peered out cautiously.

The aliens were several feet away, with an elderly man in the midst of them, held securely by two and looking in danger of heart failure. The aliens were of medium height and build, and what little could be seen of their exposed skin was furry. They were covered with body armour, including helmets, and carried large rifle shaped weapons. Jack knew the weapons were standard lasers, and where the aliens' superiority was really demonstrated was in their impervious armour. Can't let the holy warriors get killed by the forces of darkness, he thought sarcastically. And that man's not a hostage. Jack knew they were not supposed to be on Earth, nowhere near Earth, not for another few centuries at least.

He withdrew silently, to where Mike and the other Unit soldiers were waiting. "You know what they are?"

Jack nodded. "They're called Jantuc."

"They seem to want to leave," said Mike. "Maybe we should let them."

"They're a scouting party," said Jack. "They go, and it shows them they can't be stopped, that this world is ripe for picking. They'll be back, and their intentions are not peaceful."

"Negotiation?" asked Mike.

Jack shook his head. "They're fanatical, arrogant. As far as they're concerned we're animals. Suggesting negotiating would be like … you or I talking things over with a cow."

"I don't know how we're going to stop them leaving," Mike pointed out, "unless you know a way to shoot through that armour. And I have to say I don't like the idea of sacrificing my men for nothing." He paused. "Of course there's the question of the hostage."

"He's not a hostage," said Jack. "He's a sample." Mike stared at him in surprise, but did not respond as the Jantuc approached.

The Unit soldiers continued to withdraw, only minimal firing being exchanged at this point. Jack contacted Gwen. "What's going on, Jack?" she asked.

"Tell Tosh to pack up, and I want you to go back to the cottage. Owen and Martha are there with some wounded."

"What are you going to do, Jack?" Ianto asked.

"I'll meet you there," said Jack, and signed off.

"We let them go?" said Mike.

"You're right," said Jack. "We can't stop them, not yet, anyway."

"And what about the hostage?"

"I told you, he's not a hostage."

"Hostage, sample, lab rat, what about him?" demanded Mike. "My bosses aren't going to be too keen I let these aliens waltz off with a civilian."

Jack smiled at that. "Lucky I don't have any bosses."

They arrived at the wormhole, Jack noting that the others had left as he instructed. "Mike, withdraw your guys. Nobody else should get hurt."

"What are you going to do?"

"The only thing I can," said Jack. He moved to stand directly in front of the wormhole, and waited. And unfortunately, he thought, the only thing I can think of to save that old man, the only thing these people might understand, doesn't appeal to me at all. But letting him go when I know where he's going appeals even less. How long would it take to get from the cottage to here at a dead run? Two minutes minimum. Leave it to the last minute to contact them. By that time it'll be too late to interfere, whatever happens.

The aliens appeared, and raised their weapons. Jack activated his comlink to the team, spoke quickly into it, then deactivated it and raised his hands. He spoke to them in a different language.

Mike, watching from concealment, watched as the aliens stopped, apparently surprised. One of them spoke back. Jack pointed to the old man, then to himself. "Jack, what are you doing?" Mike murmured, though he had already guessed.

The aliens laughed. The one who had first spoken spoke again, pointing down. Jack kneeled, and said something else. The old man was pushed to one side, discarded, and immediately ignored. The aliens surrounded Jack, searched and disarmed him, and dragged him through the wormhole while Mike could only watch.

When they were all gone he emerged, and helped the old man, who was still sprawled on the ground, to his feet. "Are you hurt?" he asked. The man seemed barely able to frame a coherent answer, and Mike beckoned to one of the few soldiers he'd kept with him. "Take him back to the cottage." He walked cautiously towards the hole, and then jumped back in surprise as it suddenly closed up and disappeared.

He picked up Jack's gun, communicator, and wristcomp, which the aliens had discarded, just as Gwen, Ianto and Tosh came sprinting up. "Where is he?" Gwen demanded.

"Gone," said Mike, handing over Jack's equipment.

"What happened?" Gwen said. "He suddenly contacted, said, 'Owen's in charge til I get back', then it cut off."

"He exchanged himself," said Mike, "for the old guy."

"Why didn't you stop them?" shouted Gwen.

"We couldn't," said Mike shortly, turning away. "I guess I'd better speak to Dr Harper." He headed towards the cottage.

Ianto stared at the point where the wormhole had vanished. "Ianto?" said Tosh tentatively.

"He'll come back," said Ianto positively. "He said he'd come back, so he'll come back." He headed towards the cottage, ignoring their dubious and pitying looks. Anyway, he thought, he promised me. He said he'd always come back.


	3. Chapter 3

A small white room contained one camera, one door (locked), and no chairs. Jack sat on the floor, completely naked. The search had been brutally thorough, and then he had been left alone. He estimated some hours had passed, and he was using the time to review what he knew.

From the insignia the Jantuc were wearing he identified them as being from the Siphi chapter. In the 51st century they had been a minor player among the Jantuc, but he remembered back in the 21st they had been more powerful, which tied in with the glimpse of the town he had seen from a window as they had brought him here. Enclave, he corrected himself. That's what they called it, an enclave, surrounded by impenetrable forcefields.

The only way he could see out of his current predicament was the way he'd arrived, and while he could clearly remember his way back to the lab-like room where they'd emerged from the wormhole, he couldn't see a way to get there, not unarmed … not to mention buck naked, he though wryly. And then there was the device generating the wormhole, tiny for something that was so powerful, and a dead ringer for the device in the box the Doctor had sent him. It wasn't Jantuc tech, either. Jack was positive about that.

The door slid open, and a Jantuc entered, without armour now, revealing it's bear-like features. The guard prodded Jack with something that reminded him unpleasantly of a cattle prod, not electricified though, he was relieved to note. Not yet, anyway, he amended, getting to his feet and moving in the direction indicated. He was entering another lab from the look of it, with several Jantuc present and many of them armed. Hands laid hold of him, and pushed him down onto a metal table, where his arms and legs were secured with clamps.

For the next two hours he was poked with needles, prodded, had blood drawn, scanned, specimens taken of his skin, nails hair, under the skin (no anaesthetic – Jack bit his lip and endured as best he could). There were many aspects of this situation that were all too reminiscent of his time on the Valiant, and Jack was very aware that his fear was skyrocketing. What was helping him most to remain in the moment and the horrors it contained on its own merits was that it was all impersonal, like he wasn't even present, very different from the Master, who was always very concerned that Jack be present. He had been expecting this attitude and didn't even try to talk to them. He knew it would probably be a bad idea to let them see the disgust he felt for them, so he shut his eyes, and tried to think about what he knew of them, distracting himself from his fear and the pain.

Holy warriors. Self-styled only children of the Creator, the Lord of the Spaces. All of the rest of the universe's myriad races were created by the Prince of Darkness to destroy them, so they were given dominion over all others to use as chattel, to torment at will, and work until they died. They organised themselves in Chapters, lived in Enclaves, usually on planets with primitive rural populations providing a regular supply of labour. Other labour was acquired through piracy and raiding. There would only be one enclave to a planet, he knew. Something about the whole 'spaces' concept in their faith required they didn't congregate in too large numbers, which in fact was a contributing factor to their not ever becoming a force to be reckoned with in the universe. In the Time Agency he had learned their language, though he had used a different language, a kind of lingua franca he knew they'd be familiar with, to speak to them. He didn't want them knowing he understood them. All he knew about them had been enough to tell Jack what had lain in store for that old man had he let the Jantuc take him. He had made the only choice he could. He thought about his team, wondered if they would pull together as they had before, if they would be alright. He hoped so. He tried not to think about Ianto. He had made a promise to his lover that he would always come home, and lying on that slab, unable to prevent a scream when an alien calmly sliced off a chunk of skin with a scalpel, it was hard to believe he would be able to keep his word.

Jack had seen some of the chattel in the corridors as they had brought him here, pale thin beings of many different races, bruised and scarred, dressed in undyed tunics and trousers, thin cloth shoes, eyes downcast, scurrying in absolute silence about their allotted tasks. The clothes were familiar, as the machine had been. Somehow, Jack realised he had come to where the Doctor was, though the knowledge didn't help him much. In a town this size, where his movements would be restricted, finding the Doctor could prove to be difficult, if not impossible. Never say die, Jack, he told himself. Something will come up. Just have to be ready.

Something was in injected into his right forearm, and he flinched. Some kind of implant, by the feel of it. A Jantuc ran a scanner over his arm, and seemed happy with the result. The clamps were released, and one of the Jantuc picked up the prod and dug it in his ribs. He got the hint and got off the table, staggering slightly and moaning in pain. A pile of clothes lay on the floor, and with a further prod he put them on, the same uniform worn by the other prisoners.

The Jantuc who had injected the implant made an adjustment on her equipment and spoke. "Do you understand me?"

Jack did, of course, but he realised the speech was being translated. "Yes," he replied.

The one holding the prod poked him with it, and he let out a yelp of pain. That answers that question, he thought. Does have a charge. "The appropriate response is 'yes my Lord' or in my case 'yes, my Lady'," said the speaker.

Oh brother, thought Jack. "Yes, my lady," he responded obediently, and thinking about those faces in the corridors, belatedly lowered his eyes.

She nodded, satisfied. "We have implanted you with a device that translates our commands. It also allows your movements to be tracked. It contains all pertinent information regarding your work and permitted areas. Any transgression will be punished. Do you understand?"

Expected no less, thought Jack. "Yes, my lady."

"We will test you now," said the Jantuc, "to determine your usefulness." The prod holder compelled him towards a computer screen. 21st century knowledge only, he reminded himself.

Some time later he found himself on a transport bus with a number of other prisoners, being driven from the building he was in, which he discovered was simply known as Central Control. He had been handed a paper which he was instructed to give to the site controller of the factory where he would be working. The others were all new too, he thought, from their looks of bewilderment and their general health. The presence of the Jantuc driver and two guards ensured silence among the prisoners. The bus had no windows, but there were air slits in the sides, and Jack spent the trip with his eye to one, doing his best to memorise the route and landmarks. The bus finally halted, and one of the guards moved down the aisle, scanning each prisoner. He stopped in front of Jack. "Out and quick about it."

"Yes my lord," said Jack, and left the bus.

The guard followed him, and pushed Jack ahead of him into the building. He handed him over to another guard, then left. This one took Jack's paper, and ordered him to walk ahead of him, past rows of workers of varying races, seated at benches assembling electronic components. Another Jantuc met them and the guard handed over the paper. He read it, and then suddenly punched Jack in the face, knocking him over. "Get up," he said. Jack rose, willing himself not to go for the guy, and kept his eyes lowered. The Jantuc stared at him for a moment, then nodded, and beckoned to a nearby worker. "Show this one its work," he said, and left.

The prisoner beckoned Jack over to a workbench. "You will work here. We are assembling couplings for power units. We have a quota to fill every day. I will show you." He quickly ran through the steps, too quickly really, but Jack was quite capable of doing the job, so nodded, and got down to work.

Just like in Central Control there was absolute silence from the workers, and Jack decided it was practical to follow suit. A little over an hour after he arrived, the guards, who had been prowling up and down the aisles, occasionally striking out at the cowering workers, moved as one into a back room, apparently for a break, as there seemed to be much laughing, and eating. The workers, it seemed, didn't get breaks. Jack wondered if it would now be safe to speak to the man next to him, a humanoid of very pallid complexion that Jack guessed might be from Ushari, but as he looked at the man he noticed he was shaking, almost sobbing even as he continued to work.

"What's wrong?" Jack whispered.

"I'm not going to make quota," the man replied. "I'm not going to make it."

Jack didn't need to ask why he was so terrified. "Here," he said, reaching into his box of finished components. "Take some of mine." The man looked at him, surprise mixed with fear on his face.

Suddenly there was a blow to Jack's head, and he fell sideways off his chair. A Jantuc stood over him, holding a baton which was now pressed against Jack's chest, pinning him down. "Well done," said a voice that Jack recognised as the site controller's. "Infraction?"

"Giving components to this one," said the guard.

"I will record your duty. Carry on," said the shift supervisor.

"May I assist?" said another of the guards.

"Thank you," said the first.

A few minutes later they walked away leaving Jack on the floor, moaning in pain from the beating. As he struggled to sit up, another guard walked past and kicked him. "Back to work, you." Jack pulled himself back into his seat with difficulty, and spared a glance for his companion. The man worked on, his eyes resolutely down, and was apparently not going to offer to give the components back. Jack wiped blood from a split lip, and then went back to work.

In the Central Complex, chattel worked in a computer centre, sitting at rows of terminals. Data was processed, stock managed, records kept, all the administration generated by any society. One terminal was receiving information of all new chattel that day, for allocation of sleeping quarters and food rations. Bony fingers tapped rapidly away at the keys as each record was displayed. As Jack's record flashed up the fingers paused. Short sighted eyes peered closely at the screen. Lips pursed, and then the fingers resumed tapping at the keyboard, sending the sleeping allocation to the new chattel's work assignment, so he could be directed there at end of shift.


	4. Chapter 4

On the street outside the factory, Jack leaned against a wall, bent over throwing up. Nearby stood a Volat, a grey skinned being Jack had observed inside at a computer terminal, apparently working on inventory and orders. He had already announced that he would show Jack to his sleeping quarters. The translator the Jantuc had installed only allowed their prisoners to understand or respond to them, not to each other, but the Volat used the same language Jack had first used to speak to the Jantuc, so he understood. The street was mostly empty of traffic, but full of chattel apparently heading towards wherever they slept for the night. Those who walked past Jack and the Volat were mostly too weary to pay attention, though some gave Jack sympathetic looks and encouraging smiles.

He straightened up finally, wincing at the bruises on his stomach, and wiped blood from his newly split lip. "Whaling on the new guy a tradition around here? I mean, I got it the first time, but the second?"

"Not quota making," said the Volat.

"I was only there half the shift!" protested Jack.

"Not caring they," shrugged the Volat. "Excuse making. More holy they if beating chattel creatures of evil."

Jack, remembering how much Volat grammar made his head ache at the best of times, took a few seconds to untangle the last sentence. "What a load of rubbish," he concluded finally.

"Much rubbish talking," the Volat agreed.

"My name's Jack, by the way."

"Shaku," said the Volat. "Sleeping you my quarters. Showing you. Walking now."

Jack nodded. "Walking now." He tentatively stood away from the support of the wall. As they walked Shaku put out a supporting hand every so often as Jack stumbled. He knew he'd be fine in an hour or two, but for now some of his ribs were cracked, his stomach ached, his head pounded, and one of his eyes was swollen nearly shut. This didn't stop him continuing to watch everything around him, memorising the route and watching all the different species. Every now and again a vehicle would drive by, but in general the streets were bare of Jantuc.

Eventually they turned in through a gate, and into a concrete square with featureless buildings facing onto it. In the centre of the square was a raised platform with a number of items, stocks, a post with manacles, and other things Jack couldn't identify. It reminded him unpleasantly of concentration camps he'd seen at the end of World War 2.

"Chattel quarters number three," Shaku said. "Blocks 1, 2, 3, 4." He pointed. "Cookhouse. Water outlet and Washhouse. Turns taking for cooking and cleaning. Shift outside still doing. Not much sleep getting when rostering. Sleeping place you and me block two."

Jack followed him, sleeping (or at least lying down) sounding pretty good. It already felt like years since he'd left Cardiff, though he estimated it was probably only twenty hours. Since then he'd been shot at, experimented on, and beaten up twice. One hell of a long day, he though, as Shaku led the way through rows and rows of double bunks. Finally, after what seemed like another year, Shaku pointed at a bunk, lower, Jack noted in relief. "Yours. Remembering where."

"Thanks," Jack mumbled, collapsing onto it. It was as hard as a rock, but in his exhausted state it seemed the height of luxury. He shut his eyes and slipped into a doze.

He wasn't sure how much later it was when he was aware of Shaku speaking to someone. "Seeing resemblance. Both of you sticking neck out getting chopped off. And crazy risk taking message sending computer line?"

There was a laugh, familiar. "Thank you for helping him."

Shaku hmmphed. "Flattering sweet talking you nowhere getting." Jack opened his eyes to see the Volat smile even while he said this, and leave with a wave.

"Doctor," said Jack.

The Doctor turned around. "You're awake."

"You look like hell," said Jack.

The Doctor grinned. "You're not looking the best yourself."

"Long day," Jack replied, struggling to get up.

"Stay put," said the Doctor. He knelt down on the floor next to the bunk, and Jack saw there was a bowl of water there and a cloth and also a mug. The Doctor picked up the mug first. "Thirsty?" Jack propped himself up on his elbow, grabbed the mug and drained it. The Doctor wetted the cloth and started cleaning the blood from Jack's face. "You know, I think getting your first beating within two hours of processing may be some kind of record."

"I'm a fast worker," said Jack. "You know, while you're down there ..."

"Stop it." The Doctor paused for a moment. "Don't take this the wrong way, but how can you be here?"

"Wormhole," said Jack.

The Doctor frowned. "I was afraid you were going to say that. That means they've got it to work."

"I saw it, when we came through. It looked exactly like the thing you sent me."

The Doctor paused, looking at Jack oddly. "The thing I sent you?" he repeated.

"Yeah," said Jack. "With the message … you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

The Doctor stared off into space. "Rift might have altered a wormhole, pulled it back in time."

"Doc …"

The Doctor blinked. "Yes, I know what you're talking about, but there is only one wormhole device."

"You haven't done it yet!" said Jack, understanding.

"Oh, just a plot I'm hatching," said the Doctor, and grinned cheerfully. "Nice to know it works. Now, you're the first human they've ever seen, I assume they did the usual tests?" Jack nodded, grimacing. "They didn't kill you, did they?"

Jack shook his head. "Haven't died yet."

"Well don't," said the Doctor. "I don't know how they'd react to you resurrecting but I suspect it wouldn't be pretty. For a spacefaring race they're tiresomely superstitious." There was a sound of a gong somewhere in the background. "I'll get your food. Stay there."

During the night Jack woke, realising someone was standing next to the bunk. A woman's voice whispered something to the Doctor on the top bunk, who immediately responded. Jack saw him get down from the bunk and go with the woman, carrying something. Curious, he rose and followed.

At another bunk a woman was curled up on her side, clutching her stomach and moaning in agony. A companion knelt next to her, stroking her arm and murmuring comfortingly. She stepped back as the Doctor arrived, and he took her place. "Ruth?" he said quietly.

"Hurts," moaned Ruth.

"I know." He placed his hands on either side of her head. "Let me help." Nothing happened for some moments, and then suddenly she relaxed and went limp. The first woman, who had left, now returned with a tin mug, which the Doctor took from her. He opened what he had been carrying, which Jack saw was a cloth pouch, and took a pinch of some kind of herb from it, which he put in the cup and swished around with his finger. "'Scuse fingers," he said to Ruth as one of the other women lifted her up and he held the cup to her lips.

She smiled at him and drank. "Thank you. It's better."

Jack withdrew back to his bunk at that point, not wishing to be seen.


	5. Chapter 5

"What are the Jantuc going to think when they see there isn't a mark on me?" wondered Jack the next morning.

"Trust me, they won't even notice," said the Doctor. "They weren't really looking at you to start with."

Shaku came up at that moment, and stopped in shock.

"Healing all your kind so fast?" he wondered.

"Oh, Jack's one of a kind," said the Doctor. "Try and stay out of trouble."

Jack watched him go with a worried frown, before continuing on to the factory with Shaku.

"Very careful being Doctor," said Shaku suddenly. "Much worrying not needing."

"Are you trying to tell me they haven't laid into him?" asked Jack sceptically.

Shaku snorted. "All chattel beating and hurting. Doctor not excepting." He poked a finger at Jack. "Self worrying. Focusing on here and now."

Jack nodded. "Good advice," he admitted, not wanting to repeat his experiences of the day before.

While Jack worked (fast enough to make quota but no more) he thought about the previous evening, wishing he'd been a bit less tired, as he had a million questions to ask the Doctor. That the Doctor had allowed his own capture Jack didn't doubt, and the wormhole generator must have been the reason. It was not Jantuc technology, Jack knew that, though he knew of no race who'd perfected such a thing, even in his day. Maybe the Doctor knew.

But Jack had a more worrying thought in his mind, a suspicion that had started to grow after seeing the Doctor treat that woman in the middle of the night, considering the fact that the other woman had come to him in obvious expectation of his help, and he seemed to have acquired from some source a supply of medicinal herbs. He wasn't going to leave it at the wormhole generator, Jack decided. He was going to try to save this whole planet, and that was going to elevate things to a whole new level of difficulty. Jack considered trying to talk him out of it, only to discard that option. He'd never succeed, and it wasn't as if the idea was a wrong one.

Jack's reverie was interrupted by a scream nearby. Some hapless woman was dragged from her place and two guards began striking her with their batons, while she cowered on the ground screaming and covering her head with her hands. Jack observed this out of the corner of his eye while his hands continued to work, wishing he could help her but knowing how pointless that would be.

It must have something to do with the computer, Jack decided. The chattel who worked in Central Control wouldn't have high access, of course, but he knew all the Doctor would need was a point of entry and he could hack his way into anything. He was also wondering where the TARDIS was hidden. They were going to have a long talk tonight, Jack decided, which would involve making the Doctor talk to him properly and not be evasive.

He was going to have to ask about the medical role he seemed to have taken on in their quarters as well. He knew Timelord stamina was way beyond human, but the Doctor looked worn out to him. Jack grimaced slightly to himself, even as he made the decision to take on the role of baby-sitter. If looking after the Doctor was what it took to get them both out alive, then that's what he'd do.

Jack entered the quarters at the end of the day, grateful for at least one day with nothing heavier than the occasional cuff or blow. He strolled through the bunks, looking around, greeting people, and trying to get a sense of the place. He noticed a large number of beings of a dark skinned colour, who talked among themselves in a language he didn't recognise. On looking around he thought they were the largest species being represented.

"They're called the Tehanu," said a voice. He turned to see a very thin young woman, of coppery-coloured skin and brown eyes with gold flecks, a native of Kelis or one of its colonies, he thought. The black hair topping this head made for a striking contrast. "This is their world," she continued. "Tehan. The Jantuc stole it ten years ago." She smiled at him. "I'm Ruth."

The girl from last night, he thought. Recovered, and kind of gorgeous. He was about to introduce himself in the usual way, but something about her made him stop. Don't flirt, he thought. Not with this one. "I'm Jack," he said simply.

"Yes," she said. "The Doctor's friend."

Jack smiled. "News travels fast."

"No secrets around here." She paused. "I don't know you, but I'd like to talk to you … about our friend."

"Sure," said Jack, curious. She beckoned to him, and they went outside the building, where Ruth sat on the ground against the wall, Jack beside her. He noticed she had a leather bag slung from her shoulder, and now she drew from it a sheet of what looked like home made paper, and a stick of charcoal. "I didn't think chattel were allowed belongings," he said.

"They're not," said Ruth, beginning to draw, the failing light apparently not hampering her efforts. The Kelisi had excellent night vision, he remembered. "It's fairly safe," she continued. "They never come in here, except if someone didn't turn up for work. So nobody does that, because we don't want them in here. They might find all sorts of things."

Jack looked at what she was drawing, but didn't recognise it. "You wanted to talk about the Doctor."

"How long have you known him?"

"Quite a while."

"Does he seem … tired, to you?"

Jack frowned. "Yeah, he does."

"He hardly sleeps, you know. He told me his race doesn't need much sleep."

"That is true," said Jack. "But even so …"

"He helps everyone," said Ruth. "In the four months since he arrived the deaths in this chattel quarters is much reduced. The Tehanu bring him herbs they find when they're out in the fields, and he makes people better. Before he came a few of us had picked up a little of the Tehanu language, a few words. He learned their language in one hour."

Jack laughed. "His people … can do that."

She nodded. "Everyone started paying attention, trying to work together, look after each other. He did that, without raising his voice, without trying to talk anyone into anything. And it's good, it's just … they go to him, everyone goes to him, and he never turns anyone away."

"You're really worried about him."

"He's helped me too." She continued to sketch as she spoke, an unfamiliar landscape now developing on the page.

"Is that home?" asked Jack. She nodded. "It's beautiful. You're very talented."

She looked pleased. "Thank you. You know, some people think working in Central Control is a cushy job, because that's where the smartest people end up. But it's not. Quite the reverse. They're far more closely observed, you see. They get hurt, injured, much more often. They die sooner. I don't know how he deals with it. I've seen people fall apart under the pressure."

A new crowd came through the gate, and Jack realised it was the Central Control workers. They separated off to their different quarters, and soon the Doctor stood in front of them.

"Just saying hello?" He looked meaningfully at Jack, who grinned smugly. The Doctor turned his attention to Ruth. "How are you?"

"I'm feeling well today," she said, stowing her paper and charcoal back in the pouch. She got up. "And I've made a new friend." She smiled at them both and went inside.

The Doctor sat down in the spot she'd vacated. "We need to talk," said Jack, switching to English.

"Yes," said the Doctor. Jack looked at fresh bruises on one of his arms, small and finger spaced apart. The Doctor spotted him looking. "You worry too much." He paused. "With Ruth, you weren't …"

"Of course not," said Jack. "I know damage when I see it. One of those bastards screwing her?" The Doctor merely nodded. "I suppose it's common."

"Actually it's extremely rare," said the Doctor. "For a Jantuc to be doing that would be like … a human being guilty of bestiality."

Jack grimaced. "Is that what's making her sick?"

"I thought you'd followed me last night," the Doctor replied. "The Jantuc she works for has gone off planet on some kind of expedition. She'll be better for a while."

"The wormhole device," said Jack, deciding he'd better get on with what he needed to talk about. "It's not Jantuc tech. They wouldn't have technology anywhere near that."

"No, they didn't invent it, they found it, and worked out what it does and how to use it."

"Do you know whose technology it is?"

"What's important," said the Doctor, " is that it gives them access to worlds they wouldn't be able to reach, and in a much safer way to stage raids than by ship."

"They're not supposed to be on Earth til the 26th century."

"27th," corrected the Doctor. "Humans will be ready for them by then. But now … well, it shouldn't be happening."

"So you let them take you." The Doctor nodded. "Where's the TARDIS?"

"Hidden," said the Doctor.

"What's the plan?" asked Jack.

"I am … in the process of reprogramming their computer. I have to do it right under their noses, and so they can't detect it until it's too late to stop."

"How long?"

"Could be another couple of months yet," said the Doctor. "I am sorry you got involved in this."

"Oh well," said Jack cheerfully. "The others are always telling me I should get away from the office."

The Doctor laughed. "Actually it's a beautiful planet." He waved a hand. "Out there."

"Those forcefields ruin the view, don't they?" said Jack. "They should do something about that."

The Doctor looked mischievous. "They should, shouldn't they?"

Jack sobered suddenly. He is going to try and get everyone out, he thought. "For God's sake, be careful."

The Doctor laid a reassuring hand on his arm. "Don't worry. It's going to be fine. We'll get out of this."

"Will you at least try and get more rest? You're running yourself ragged with these people."

The Doctor looked away. "How can I refuse? They need me."

"You need to …" Jack began, when they were suddenly interrupted by a small figure who had crossed from one of the other blocks, a Tehanu child.

The little boy made an elegant bow, with hands folded together in front of him. The Doctor imitated it. The child said something, which the Doctor answered, then got to his feet.

"Did you hear anything I just said?" complained Jack.

The Doctor waved at him as he followed the child.


	6. Chapter 6

Every tenth day was the Jantuc Day of Sanctification. Every Jantuc would attend the Temple at the centre of the Enclave where their leader the High Priest lived, and most other activities beyond essential services were shut down. Consequently the chattel got a much needed rest, managing to rotate people through most of the services that stayed running so everyone could get a turn.

On this particular day Jack had done a half day at another factory that were filling some kind of emergency order for ground vehicle engines, and now sat on Ruth's bunk, looking through a sketch pad full of pictures. There was a bloodstained bandage around one of his arms. "Where'd you get the book?" he asked.

"The Temple Storehouse," she said, not looking up from something she was drawing.

The storehouse stood behind the Temple, and that was where the chattels' belongings were stored. Why they weren't destroyed, given the Jantuc's beliefs, Jack didn't know.

"The chattel who work there occasionally smuggle things out, and someone gave me a sketch pad. I still try to use home made paper as much as possible, though. The pad's for special pictures."

"Like this one?" asked Jack, suddenly stopping at a picture, and smiling.

Ruth looked over, and laughed. "Oh, yes."

Jack was looking at a drawing of the Doctor, who was sitting cross legged on the floor surrounded by Tehanu children. "What was he doing?"

"Telling them a story, I think," said Ruth. "They thought it was very funny, whatever it was."

"Yeah," said Jack, gazing at the picture in fascination. "He looks … happy. Did he know you were drawing him?"

Ruth nodded. "Told me to get his best side. And he was happy, just for a moment. You've got to appreciate the moments around here. They don't come that often. The Doctor understands that."

"What's that name the Tehanu call him? Ba .. bate …"

"Batela," said Ruth. "It means 'healer'."

"And the way they treat him, it's almost … reverent."

Ruth shrugged. "While I've tried to learn their language I'm nowhere near the Doctor's fluency. From what I understand, a healer is a very high calling among the Tehanu, almost a sacred calling. He doesn't notice, you know, the reverence."

Jack laughed. "No, he wouldn't. He's clueless about things like that."

"Do you want to know what the Tehanu call you?"

"Banor Jack?" said Jack.

"It means 'magic'. Magic Jack."

Jack laughed again. "I wish. If I were magic, I'd magic us out of here."

"That'd be nice," said Ruth.

"And then," Jack continued, "I would take you somewhere happy, and beautiful, and peaceful, and … plenty to eat!"

"What would we do there?" asked Ruth wistfully.

"Whatever you want," he answered.

She smiled shyly at him, before dropping her head back over her sketch.

"What are you drawing?"

"Something for the Doctor. Something I saw."

He wanted to question her, but didn't, continuing his examination of the sketchbook, noticing the mixture of harsher depictions of chattel existence along with the happier ones. "Well waddya know?" he said, sounding pleased. "It's me."

She glanced up at him quickly, then returned to her sketching, blushing. "I always draw my friends."

He looked at the drawing she was doing, and was surprised to see a series of electronic devices. They were very detailed, and he thought if she was drawing them from memory her memory must be phenomenal. "Where did you see those?"

"At the house where I work," she said. "The scientist I serve was showing them to the High Priest. I think from what he said these were artefacts they'd found in some kind of cache on another world. The Siphi chapter are … I don't know if they own it or they've stolen it, but they're bringing the things back here to look at."

Jack thought about the wormhole device, and realised it must be from the same place. "What made you think the Doctor would want to see these?"

"I'm not sure," she said. ""I told him once that my lord was a scientist working on a mystery artefact he found, trying to get it to work. He just seemed interested, so when they were talking about other artefacts I thought I'd pay attention." She got up. "I'm finished. Let's go find him."

He nodded. "Wait a moment." He pulled the rag from his forearm, and used it to scrape blood away from his skin. "Good, it's gone."

She looked. "Magic Jack," she said. "What did the Jantuc use?"

"Screwdriver," said Jack.

"You helping someone again?" He shrugged, and she smiled. "And you say he's too soft!" she chided.

"Don't tell him, ok?" asked Jack.

Her smile became teasing. "I think you only came to see me to hide from him til your arm was healed."

"I came to see you because I wanted to!" protested Jack. "Hiding from him was just a bonus."

She laughed. "Your secret's safe with me."

They found him sitting on his bunk, a supply of fresh herbs from the Tehanu spread out before him. The Doctor was picking up the sprigs one by one, holding them up close to his eyes, and then smelling them, before adding them to one of two piles. He didn't realise he was being watched to start with, then noticed them and smiled. "You know what I miss the most? My glasses."

"I think you should see this," said Ruth, handing him the picture. "No pun intended," she added, as Jack chuckled.

"Hmm, you two are hilarious," said the Doctor, peering at the drawings, then suddenly becoming serious. "Your boss?"

"Talking to the High Priest. These things are from the same place the other thing was from?"

"Did they mention the name of the planet?" Ruth shook her head. The Doctor jumped down from the bunk. "I need more light," he muttered, holding the sheet closer to one of the lamps.

Ruth sat down on the lower bunk, suddenly looking tired. "You ok?" murmured Jack, and she nodded. "Doc?" Jack said. "What's going on?" The Doctor looked up at him but didn't answer. "Does the wormhole generator come from the same place?" Jack switched to English with an apologetic glance at Ruth. The Doctor nodded. "I don't recognise any of this."

"You wouldn't," said the Doctor.

"Can you please tell me what's going on?"

The Doctor sighed. "The wormhole generator, all this?" he gestured at the sheet. "It's Gallifreyan."

Jack gaped at him. "What? How?"

"I'm not sure," said the Doctor. "I know there were stockpiles on some planets, technology, records. That was towards the end of the war, when things weren't going well. But I thought they'd all been destroyed." He turned back to Ruth. "These items, they've been brought here?"

She nodded. "But he said … there's plenty more."

"You've done really well, Ruth. Thank you for showing this to me." He looked her over. "How are you feeling?"

"All right," said Ruth. She rose. "I'll see you."

Jack watched her go, and turned back to the Doctor. "Does this change things?"

"Not particularly. These things are … not weapons and not particularly dangerous, not like the wormhole generator. We're less than a month away from finishing this. No need to change anything."

"What about the plenty more?"

The Doctor grinned cheerfully. "I like a challenge."

Jack eyed him uneasily, as he climbed back onto his bunk and continued with his herb sorting. He didn't question him, however, as there was something else he needed to ask, and decided now was as good a time as any.

"Doc?"

"Hmm?"

"Is Ruth dying?"

The Doctor looked up quickly, and regarded him silently for a moment. "Yes," he said simply.

"Does she know?" The Doctor nodded.

Jack nodded back, and walked away, the Doctor watching him go. "I'm sorry," he whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

In Central Control, a shift neared its end. The Doctor had identified a long time ago that Jantuc surveillance tailed off in the last hour, with the Jantuc employees longing to go home and bored, so it had always been the best time of the day to get on with his real task. Not that he wasn't extremely careful even then. The only thing anyone would ever see on his screen was what was supposed to be there, as he was capable of continuing his reprogramming without anything visible on the monitor in front of him. What needed to be done he mapped out in his head in advance, and the programs he was using were hidden behind innocuous records and data.

Working nearby was a young man who had come to the Enclave only in the last week. He and his wife had been newly weds on their way to their honeymoon when the ship they'd been travelling on was attacked by Jantuc of the Siphi chapter. The man was an extremely experienced programmer and his intelligence made him a choice for Central Control. He seemed to spend most of his time worrying about his wife, which was fair enough, the Doctor thought, except that if he didn't concentrate more on what he was doing he was going to get hurt.

He was looking particularly agitated on this day as one of the guards strolled past, obviously bored. Suddenly the man, to the surprise of the other chattel, moved from his seat and bowed before the Jantuc. "My Lord, I have something to report."

"What?" growled the guard, just as surprised and completely disgusted.

The Doctor, with an uneasy feeling, poised his fingers to input a preprogrammed command into his terminal, for emergency use when he needed to shut down what he was doing instantly. "That one is not doing his work!" babbled the man, pointing at the Doctor. He must be good to have worked that out, thought the Doctor, still apparently working away like all the others while he input the preset commands. He couldn't help a feeling of dread for what he knew was going to happen next, but he also knew the alternatives were worse.

"You!" snarled the guard. "Stand away."

The Doctor rose silently and stepped back from the terminal.

"My Lord," begged the man. "Extra food for my wife …"

"Animal!" snarled the guard, striking him. "Get back to work!"

Whimpering, the man crawled back into his seat, and the guard, with a suspicious glance at the Doctor, approached his terminal and peered at it. He pressed a button, and the screen suddenly filled with meaningless gibberish. "What?" The guard whirled to face the Doctor.

He carefully kept his eyes lowered, feigning surprise. "Apologies, my lord, I must have made a mistake in coding, the terminal has crashed, I'm sorry …"

The guard twisted his arm viciously and slammed him into the wall, the right side of his face and his shoulder impacting with considerable force. He screamed as he felt his shoulder dislocate from the socket. He was held there as one of the priests approached along with a Jantuc technician. "What has occurred?" said the priest.

"This clumsy animal has broken equipment," said the guard.

The technician checked a few things, and nodded. "A wrong coding," she said. "Fixable."

"Just as well," said the priest. "Perform your sacred duty and punish the chattel."

The guard pushed the Doctor to his knees and took out his baton.

A small group of prisoners, including Jack, were returning from the pumphouse wheeling a cart between them, on the back of which sat a large container they'd just filled with water. As they manoeuvred it into its usual position, a woman approached them, who Jack recognised as one of the Central Control workers. She looked worried, and Jack had a sinking feeling even before she spoke.

"Shaku wanted you to come as soon as you got in," she said. "It's the Doctor."

Jack left the others and followed her. "What happened?"

"Stupid new chattel thought he saw him up to something. Thought he could sell it for extra food rations. Got a punch for his pains, but the Doctor crashed his terminal, and you know how they'd react to that."

"Where is this guy?" said Jack angrily.

She pointed as the man approached them, wringing his hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't …"

He didn't finish the sentence when Jack punched him, and he fell to the floor. Before he could do more than cry out, Jack grabbed the front of his tunic and hauled him to his feet. The man's wife had appeared on the scene by then, sobbing for Jack not to hurt him. Some of the watching prisoners held her back. Jack ignored her, pulling the man close and speaking slowly and deliberately. "Listen very carefully. The Jantuc don't care about you. You cannot bargain with them. They will not trade. You are nothing to them. All you do is hurt someone else, and yourself, and you will have nothing to show for it. Do you understand me?" The man nodded, terrified. "One more thing," Jack continued in the same cold tones. "All we have here is each other. If I hear of you doing this again the Jantuc will be the least of your worries." He dropped the man at that point and moved on.

He dropped to his knees next to the lower bunk on which the Doctor was lying, his eyes shut. He was extremely pale, and his right cheek was swollen into a huge bruise. Suddenly Jack was reminded of the recording he'd seen at Torchwood. This was what he looked like, he thought. Less swelling, but otherwise this was it.

Shaku, sitting nearby, said, "Shoulder dislocating putting back needing?"

Jack had already noticed it, and grimaced. "Yeah, it does."

The Doctor opened his eyes. "Have you ever done that before?" he asked faintly, his voice shaking with pain.

"So long as your joints are the same as humans," Jack replied. "Anything broken?"

"No," the Doctor replied. "I don't break that easily."

Jack nodded, and reached up to the Doctor's bunk, drawing out a parcel from under the mattress. He unrolled it, revealing several pouches. "Which one's the pain killer?"

Several onlookers were waiting in the vicinity, offering help, and Jack sent one of them for water and another for some bandages. Once he had everything he needed, he sent the rest away, as he didn't think any of them needed an audience. He and Shaku lifted the Doctor til he was sitting up against Shaku, who was holding onto him from behind. Jack took hold of his arm.

"Ready?"

"Not really," admitted the Doctor.

Jack gave a small encouraging smile, and yanked. The Doctor screamed, convulsing in Shaku's grip, and collapsed.

"Got it," said Jack in considerable relief.

"Passing out, Doctor?" asked Shaku, holding the now limp body against him.

Jack lifted his head and peeled up one eyelid. "Yes, he's out. And before he comes round, that lot in Central Control are very good at cracking ribs. I just want to make sure." With Shaku's help, he pulled up the Doctor's tunic, wincing in sympathy at the black bruises covering his back. "I know he said nothing was broken," he explained to Shaku as he probed the Doctor's ribs carefully, "but he's not always truthful when it comes to his own health." He nodded, satisfied. "But he's fine." They used the bandages to bind the Doctor's arm to the shoulder, immobilising it, then they laid him back down on the bed. The Doctor regained consciousness a few minutes later, and bit his lip in pain. "Want some more of this stuff?" said Jack, holding up the herbs. The Doctor nodded, and Jack prepared another cup, holding up his head so he could drink.

"It was a close call," whispered the Doctor, as Jack laid his head back down. "Fool nearly ruined everything."

"He won't be doing it again in a hurry," said Jack.

The Doctor looked at him in worry. "What did you do?"

"Had a conversation," said Jack innocently.

The Doctor frowned at him for a few moments, and shut his eyes. "I don't think I want to know." He sighed. "Thank you," he whispered, and within a minute Jack realised he was asleep.

Jack looked at Shaku, who was still sitting quietly nearby. "Doctor being well now?" Shaku queried.

Jack didn't answer immediately. In the short time he'd been there he'd seen the Doctor getting weaker and more exhausted, despite Jack's best efforts to take care of him. He was terrified the Doctor would succumb to one of the many diseases currently present among the chattel population, especially given his insistence on giving medical aid to the sick. Too stubborn, that's the problem, Jack thought glumly. He'll do whatever he thinks he should do no matter what anyone says. "I'm sure he'll be fine," he told Shaku, wishing he could believe it.


	8. Chapter 8

Jack followed the Doctor towards the gate of the compound at his request during the evening about a week later. Jack watched him massage his shoulder. "Are you in pain?" he asked.

The Doctor looked at him in surprise. "Aches a bit," he admitted.

They stood at the gate, which had been sealed about half an hour earlier, and looked out. There was a street leading away from them, and in the distance the forcefield that stretched overhead came down to the ground, marking that side of the Enclave.

"They must use geothermal power," said Jack.

The Doctor nodded. "Virtually inexhaustible with the right power converters."

"Why are we here?" The Doctor seemed lost in thought. "Doc?"

"Umm … yes, I need to … tell you. Just covering all the bases. This street," he pointed, "runs north east. When leaving the enclave keep going this way and you'll come to a river. Follow the river into the mountains," he pointed again, and Jack turned his attention to the mountain ranges running north of the Enclave, high enough that they were always clearly visible above the buildings. "Eventually you'll come to the TARDIS. The key is buried in the ground at a 45 degree angle and two metres to the right of the door."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Jack uneasily.

"Just in case," said the Doctor. "Covering all the bases." He smiled reassuringly.

"I'm not reassured," said Jack.

"You worry too much," said the Doctor. "It'll give you grey hairs."

"Appealing to my vanity is not going to work," Jack replied. He looked back up at the mountains. "Why so far away?"

The Doctor stared at the mountains, looking almost wistful. "Jantuc paranoia," he said. "They scan everything, all the time. The entire Enclave, all the area they fly over. She had to be outside the normal flight paths and in a place they wouldn't even consider exploiting."

"Up a mountain." Jack looked at the Doctor's expression. "You can't hear her, can you?"

The Doctor shook his head sadly, then brightened, and patted Jack on the arm. "Soon. It'll be over soon."

Jack was about to return to the topic of why the Doctor was telling him how to find the TARDIS on his own, when they were interrupted. A Tehanu woman ran up to them. "Batela! Banorjack!" She grabbed both of them by the arms, obviously agitated, and uttered a string of words.

"What was that about Ruth?" asked Jack, catching her name.

"She's collapsed," said the Doctor shortly, already heading that way with Jack following.

They heard her screaming before they reached her bunk. She lay writhing, clutching her stomach just as the night Jack had first seen her, and drenched in sweat. One of the other women was trying to stop her rolling off the bunk, while a few more stood looking on helplessly.

The Doctor took this in with a glance. "Jack, my medicines. Second and third bag from the left. Run." He turned to the onlookers. "Bring water! Quickly." One of the women left, and the Doctor knelt down and placed his hands on Ruth's face. "Let me in." A moment later he stiffened, his face reflecting her pain.

When Jack returned moments later, Ruth had relaxed a little, her screams tapering off to moans. The Doctor removed his hands from her face, seemingly disorientated. "Doc?" said Jack worriedly.

"Yes," said the Doctor, and shook his head slightly. "You brought them? OK, where's that water?" The woman returned, tin cup in hand. "Open the pouches please, Jack." Jack did, and the Doctor looked into each. "One pinch from that, two from that." Jack put them into the cup and swished it round.

The Doctor indicated Ruth, and Jack sat down on the bunk, lifting her into his arms. "Drink this, love." She moaned, but opened her mouth.

"All of it," said the Doctor.

Jack nodded. "Keep going, Ruth. You're doing fine, honey."

She finished the cup finally and lay back limply in his arms.

"That'll fix the pain. It's all I can do."

Jack looked up at the Doctor, but before he could ask anything, Ruth spoke weakly. "Doctor?" She reached out to him, and he took her hand. "It's time, isn't it?"

The Doctor nodded. "I'm so sorry, Ruth."

She shook her head. "You tried. Thank you. Jack? Will you stay with me?"

Jack tightened his grip. "I'm right here, sweetheart."

The Doctor got to his feet and ushered away the watchers, then left himself. Jack barely noticed them go. Ruth closed her eyes, and seemed to sleep, while Jack continued to hold her.

After a short while she opened her eyes again. "Hello," said Jack.

""I was thinking," she said, "about that peaceful place you were talking about, you know, the one with plenty to eat." She smiled up at him. "Would have been nice to go there with you."

"And eat?"

She giggled. "For starters." She moaned suddenly, clutching at him.

Jack kissed her on the forehead. "Don't talk, just rest."

"I know you'll get out, you and the Doctor. You're both so clever. I wish … I wish I could have come with you." Tears were running down his face, and she lifted one hand, and wiped them away. "Magic Jack," she whispered, and stopped breathing.

The Doctor lay on his bunk, his eyes shut, his head throbbing as a result of his attempt to help Ruth. He thought fleetingly of taking some of the drugs he used for pain, but discarded the idea. Self-medicating was not a habit he wanted to start.

Having linked with Ruth many times to help her, it wasn't surprising that he felt her moment of passing, and grieved for a talent he was sure would have been a renowned artist among her people had the Jantuc not taken her. The kind of being who could take a stick of charcoal, a piece of home made paper, and the hell they were in and create something wonderful … the kind of being he'd have taken with him in the TARDIS, in fact. Real companion material.

She would appeal to Jack for the same reasons, the Doctor knew. Not that it took away in any sense from his devotion to that boy back in Cardiff, who Jack had often talked about since his arrival and was obviously missing terribly. Jack wasn't exclusive in his love, and had plenty to share around. The Doctor wondered how the 21st century young man handled this concept. With difficulty, he would imagine.

The Doctor was grateful in a way that Ruth had died this evening. Had she collapsed at her place of work or on the street, a 'cleanup squad' would have been called. She would be shot, and her body immediately removed for cremation. He had seen it happen, and it was horrifying. At least this way she'd had a more peaceful end, and Jack had a chance to say goodbye.

He felt Jack's grief before he heard footsteps, then a creak and shifting of weight beneath him, signalling Jack had returned and sat down on the lower bunk. He considered pretending to be asleep, to give Jack his privacy, but thought no, say something. "Jack?"

"She's gone."

"I'm sorry I couldn't save her."

"You did your best." There was a pause. He could hear sobs. "Doctor?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"I hate them." The voice was quiet but full of loathing.

"I know," said the Doctor.


	9. Chapter 9

The factory closed, the workers left, the guards leaving by their own exit. The silence was broken by a figure moving through the abandoned workbenches, heading towards the terminal used by Shaku.

Jack had timed it scrupulously. Hide, allow himself to be locked in. He estimated ten minutes maximum to hack the system and find the information he was looking for, and no more than another five to pick the lock and exit the building, locking it behind him. Plenty of time to make it back to chattel quarters before lockdown.

His goal was the records of the Temple storehouse, and one item in particular, a plan he had been considering for some time. He had finally decided to proceed with it the day Ruth died, when the Doctor had told him how to find the TARDIS, as if he wasn't expecting to be there. This had disconcerted Jack so much that he knew he was going to have to make some backup plans of his own.

He accessed the system easily, having gleaned enough information from Shaku and the Doctor to be able to do so quickly. As he expected, what he wanted was easily found, a convenience of the Jantuc obsession with record keeping. Quickly he shut down the system and turned to leave, walking straight into a baton to the side of the head.

Jack was a victim of an appalling case of bad luck. A Jantuc guard, half way to his home, remembered he'd forgotten an item he had in his locker, which he'd picked up on his meal break that day. It was a gift for his wife, to be given to her that evening, so reluctantly he turned back to get it, only to find a chattel somewhere it definitely wasn't supposed to be.

Consequently Jack found himself in the back of a Jantuc vehicle being driven towards Chattel quarters 2 and a punishment he'd observed done to others and which he was quite sure he wasn't going to appreciate.

The Doctor entered the gate of the compound with other workers, noticing that the Jantuc had some hapless prisoner up on the platform, who was currently removing his clothes while the guards stood around waiting. A small group of prisoners gathered outside the proximity detector that circled the platform. It wasn't until the now naked prisoner was pushed towards the pillar and chained to it that the Doctor suddenly realised with a shock who it was, and began to move rapidly in that direction.

Shaku met him. "What …. What …?" exclaimed the Doctor in agitation, as one of the Jantuc took out a metal tipped whip.

"Unauthorised computer using," said Shaku. The whip cracked, and Jack screamed.

"What? Why? What was he doing?"

"Not me telling," shrugged Shaku. "Catching they bad luck."

"Bad luck?" gasped the Doctor, turning away from the sight of the blood and the sound of his friend's screams, running his hands through his hair in distress.

"Not watching you going now?" suggested Shaku gently.

The Doctor shook his head. "I can't leave." He turned resolutely towards the scene with his arms folded tightly across his chest, his shoulders wincing in sympathy with every crack of the whip.

He barely noticed the rest of the group also stayed put, and further away more people stood outside the blocks. It was probably the largest amount of chattel staying to witness such a punishment this enclave had seen, a testament to Jack's popularity among the group.

Blood was covering the base of the platform by the time the Jantuc were done. They unfastened the chains and dragged the semi-conscious Jack over to the stocks. "Wakey wakey," said one of the Jantuc, slapping him across the face, and he whimpered. "We wouldn't want you to choke too soon." The others laughed, and pushed his head and arms into the stocks, locking down the heavy wooden frame.

"Let that be a lesson to all of you!" one of them shouted at the watchers as they left the platform and activated the proximity detector. They were already chatting about other things as they headed towards the gate.

The Doctor looked down at the glowing line that circled the platform, marking the proximity detector. With his sonic screwdriver he could have made short work of the mechanism, and go help Jack, but without it crossing this line would only mean his ending up in the same position. And that wouldn't help either of them. The other watchers began to disperse. "Nothing doing here coming away?" asked Shaku.

The Doctor shook his head, and moved to a spot directly in front of the stocks, sitting down on the ground. "I'm here," he called towards the bowed head, unable to keep the anguish from his voice, as he watched Jack's blood continue to drip from the open wounds in his back. "I won't leave."

"Magic Jack surviving," said Shaku. "Not dying like others. Not worrying needing."

"That's not the point, Shaku," said the Doctor.

Shaku, realising that he would not change the Doctor's mind, sighed and left, returning later with the Doctor's meal. He stayed until the watery soup was eaten, then took away the mug. The siren sounded for lockdown, and the compound gates were sealed. The Doctor sat there all night, ignoring the cold, knowing from previous reports that the neck and wrist holes in the stocks were quite restrictive, so Jack would not be able to speak to him. He just sat and listened to him breathe.

The following morning Shaku again made an appearance with the morning meal and some water. The Doctor only left his post when the work siren sounded. "I'll come back when shift's over," he said, and reluctantly turned away.

At sunset as the workers returned the Doctor again went straight to the platform. He stood for a moment, once again listening to Jack breathe. "I'm here," he called. One of Jack's hands twitched slightly. He chose to think of it as a wave, an acknowledgement of his presence. By this time the wounds on Jack's body were closed, and the Doctor in a perverse way was thankful for the dried blood covering him, as when the Jantuc released him, especially with their failure to look directly at the chattel, they would not notice the injuries were gone. He prepared himself for another cold night, and again only left with the work siren the following day.

Late that afternoon Jack was wondering how much longer it would be before he succumbed to sleep, unconsciousness or just plain weakness and throttled in the wooden frame. It felt as if every muscle in his body was on fire. Breathing was difficult, he couldn't move his head at all, the stench of blood and his own waste was overpowering, he was cold and extremely thirsty. And so tired. He wanted Ianto, he thought, a thought quickly followed by denial. The thought of Ianto anywhere near the Jantuc made his blood run cold.

He thought about the Doctor sitting there all night for the last two nights, and felt simultaneously guilty for putting him through it, exasperated that he would do something so crazy, and enormously grateful that he'd been there.

He heard footsteps, several of them, moving up onto the platform. Jantuc, then. One of them approached the stocks, and undid the lock. Hands roughly pulled him free, dragged him from the platform, and threw him onto the ground outside the proximity detector. As he lay crumpled up in the dirt, his clothes were thrown at him, and then he heard footsteps move around behind him. A savage kick landed on his back, and he gasped in pain.

"Hope you learned your lesson, animal!" one of them snarled, and then the footsteps receded. Lesson? he thought in confusion, waiting for the footsteps to vanish altogether. Umm … don't get caught? He giggled silently, slightly hysterical. After some minutes he forced himself to a sitting position and looked around. The sun was near to setting, so the others would be returning soon. He wanted nothing more but to curl up in the dirt right where he was and go to sleep, but glancing down at his blood and filth encrusted body he realised he couldn't let the Doctor clean this lot up, not after what he'd already put him through.

He looked toward the pump house, which seemed a million miles away. OK, Harkness, he told himself. You can do this. Go now and you'll have the place to yourself, which would be preferable. Step one. Get up. Precariously Jack lurched to his feet. Every muscle in his body felt like it was spasming and cramping, and he promptly fell over with a gasp. That's when he realised he hadn't screamed with the pain because he couldn't. Stocks must have bruised his larynx or something. Oh well. On the second attempt he managed to keep his feet, but found he was unable to straighten up completely. One thing at a time, he told himself. Step two. Pick up clothes. He managed to scoop them off the ground without falling over again, a feat he was quite proud of. Step three. Walk. He began tottering towards the pump house, every step agony.

It took him nearly ten minutes to cross that short space, but finally he staggered into the darkened interior. The main pump was in front of him, but he bypassed this, staggering down the side corridor to one of the washrooms at the back, grateful for once that the Jantuc did not deprive their captives of water (if only because they didn't want the chattel who served them to stink). He made the relative security of one of the washrooms, and turned on the tap, kneeling and putting his face under it, guzzling the water avidly. The coldness of the water made him shiver and wasn't helping his cramped muscles, but he ignored this, instead starting to scrub at his body with his fingers, watching blood and dirt disappear down the drain. He heard voices, as one of the groups that hauled water for the blocks entered the main pump room. He hoped no one would come down here. He didn't want company, not until he felt a little less like the animal the Jantuc called him and more human again. Finally he turned off the water, his teeth chattering, and sat on the cold stone floor for a while, until his body dried off in the air. Finally he struggled with some difficulty into his clothes, and exited the washroom. The other washrooms were in use by then, and as usual there was a queue. He ignored the amazed looks and offers of help, looking at no one as he hobbled, trembling, back to the door, holding onto the wall to steady him. No pity, he thought. Last thing I need. Just need sleep. He emerged into the outside, and his legs nearly gave out again. As he stumbled, suddenly hands caught him.

"Lean on me," said the Doctor quietly, and Jack didn't argue, just put his arm around the Doctor's shoulders. They made their way back to the block in silence. Jack had been expecting a rant, or at least a lecture, and was surprised on some level by the Doctor's silence, but as he couldn't have framed a coherent sentence to save his life or summon enough voice to speak, he didn't think about it too much.

As on the first day the Doctor made him lie down and brought him his meal. It was a measure of his exhaustion that it didn't occur to him til next morning that the meal was larger than usual and he hadn't seen the Doctor eat.

Morning came, and Jack got up cautiously, stretching. Apart from some minor stiffness and tiredness he seemed fine. He saw a few people nearby looking at him with awestruck faces, and heard whispers of 'Magic Jack', which made him grimace. The nickname was getting a little ridiculous. Though he supposed he was virtually coming back from the dead again, though he hadn't actually died this time. He'd seen this punishment doled out to someone the first week he'd been there, and the man had died of blood loss.

The Doctor appeared at that moment with two tin cups of the watery soup, and handed him one. "Good morning," he said quietly. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks," said Jack, wolfing down the food hungrily. The Doctor sat next to him on the bunk and consumed his own meal.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Jack," he said, just as calmly.

Jack looked sideways at him. Oh, here it comes, he thought suddenly. Brace for the Oncoming Storm.

"What possessed you?" The Doctor's voice was still quiet, but so laced with anger that Jack winced. "What if they'd executed you?"

"I'd have got over it," said Jack.

"Oh, good plan, Jack!" the Doctor retorted. "And then what? Suppose they did find out you can't die? What would they have made of that, do you think? You know what these people are like! They'd have decided you were a demon or something! And Rassilon alone knows what they'd have done then!" He looked away, and just as suddenly as it had come the storm was gone. He doesn't have the energy to stay angry, Jack realised, and thought he'd rather have him furious than so exhausted. "What were you doing there, anyway?" the Doctor asked.

"Being nosey," said Jack. "It doesn't matter."

"It was damned stupid," said the Doctor.

"Just as stupid as losing sleep two nights running to stay with me and giving up your food ration last night?" The Doctor didn't answer. Jack smiled, and on an impulse reached forward and embraced him. "Thank you," he whispered in his ear, and sat back. "I'm really sorry I scared you," he added.

The Doctor turned to look at him. "We're so close now, Jack," he pleaded. "I need you in one piece. Please …"

"I'll stay out of trouble. I promise." He watched the Doctor silently for a moment, and realised that he could barely remember his old energetic self. He could use some cheering up, if just for a moment. He remembered Ruth talking about moments, and thought she would approve. He shook his head sadly. "I don't know, the things I have to do to spend the night with you."

The Doctor chuckled, and shook his head at him. Mission accomplished, thought Jack.


	10. Chapter 10

It was night, and most of the chattel were locked in their quarters, with only the night shift workers out and about. Six of these were moving an automated cart laden with food supplies from the storehouse near the spaceport through the streets to Central Control. Only three of these workers were actually on the nightshift. The other three were the Doctor, Jack and Shaku.

The Doctor's computer hacking had reprogrammed their implants, so if they were stopped by any Jantuc they would appear to be legitimate nightshift workers. It was unlikely, but the Doctor wasn't taking any chances. They entered Central Control via the kitchen door, one of the usual workers showing their written orders to the Jantuc guard who was lolling nearby, yawning. He glanced at it disinterestedly before sending them on their way with the obligatory curse and blow at the chattel nearest him.

One of the kitchen workers directed them towards the storage area where the goods they carried were to be placed. They began to unpack the cart, watching a guard stroll past at one point. After he had gone the Doctor, Jack and Shaku slipped away from the others and headed towards a locked door. The Doctor held up a hand for the others to wait, and after only a few moments the lock clicked, and they slipped through.

They found themselves in a dimly lit hall. The Doctor led the way quickly to the elevator and they got in. It rose automatically. "All cameras and sensors are looping," said the Doctor. "We're essentially invisible. Above the ground floor there should be no one in the building."

"You hope," added Jack. The Doctor smiled and didn't reply.

The elevator reached the top floor and they got out, finding themselves in a lab. The Doctor looked around, getting his bearings. "Shaku, the storage containers should be in that closet. Jack, DNA coder through there." He headed towards the centre of the lab, where the wormhole projector stood alone on a table. He bypassed it, going to a nearby workstation, where he soon found what he was looking for. The others approached moments later, Shaku laying a metal slab down on the desk, and Jack placing the DNA coder next to it. The Doctor pulled a chair away from the desk and sat down, handing the holorecorder he'd picked up from the workstation to Jack.

Jack aimed the recorder at the Doctor, and turned it on, to see him partially turned away, saying to Shaku, "Watch the door."

Jack then watched the Doctor record the exact message he'd first seen nearly three months before, after which he turned the machine off, with a shake of his head. "That … was kind of weird."

The Doctor grinned at him, and pressed a small depression on the metal slab, which promptly unfolded itself into a metal box. Jack placed the holorecorder inside the box, as the Doctor approached the wormhole projector. He stared at it for a long moment, rapidly running his fingers over a series of depressions on the top. "Coordinates keyed in." He turned to the others. "We have forty seconds from activation. Ready?"

Jack and Shaku, who had returned from the door, nodded. The Doctor pressed one more depression, and a wormhole erupted into being two metres away. The Doctor then lifted the machine, carrying it over to the box and putting it in. Jack attached the DNA coder to the side, and the Doctor quickly coded it for an English response. Jack put his hand on the plate, and the box sealed into a featureless metal cube. Shaku and the Doctor lifted the box, carrying it over to the wormhole, and threw it. Seconds later the wormhole closed, and they headed for the elevator.

"How long?" Jack asked.

"We've got time," said the Doctor.

The elevator descended, but to the surprise of two of them it stopped suddenly before reaching the ground floor.

"Why have we stopped?" Jack asked.

"Jantuc catching?" queried Shaku.

The door opened, and to their surprise the Doctor slipped through. Before either of them could react the door shut again. Jack hammered against the door, and pressed buttons, to no avail. As the lift started to move again, he heard the Doctor through the door, saying, "Keep going. I'll catch you up."

"Damn it!" snarled Jack, punching the door again. "I knew he was up to something. I just knew it!"

"Doctor not sense making," said Shaku in confusion.

Jack frowned. "He's going to the public address. He's going to warn them," he realised.

"No going back" said Shaku, as the lift reached ground floor. The doors opened, and as the Doctor had advised them, all main power died, leaving low emergency lighting. "Doctor not helping leaving now."

Jack nodded reluctantly, and they retraced their steps to the kitchen. They found it deserted. True to their instructions, the other chattel they'd recruited to help had overpowered the guard and explained to the kitchen workers what was going on. Jack was surprised they'd all gone, but he supposed when they went outside they'd be more convinced.

"Doctor succeeding," said Shaku in wonder, as they left the building.

"No forcefield," agreed Jack.

There were voices in the streets, cars already on the road, and they kept to the shadows as much as possible as they returned to the chattel quarters. As they hid from a patrol of Jantuc guards that marched past, they distinctly heard one say into his communicator, "We have no targets for chattel, sir. The trackers are off." Jack remembered the Doctor describing exactly what was going to happen the night before. Like dominos, he'd called it, and it was all going exactly as he had said. Except for the bit about him staying behind, Jack reminded himself.

They reached their quarters to find the gates wide open, and their companions already pouring out into the street, heading for the open country outside the Enclave. There were a few Jantuc guards trying to stop them, but the chattel, with no force fields in between them and freedom, were emboldened for once to fight back. Jack noticed the Tehanu fought harder than any of the others, and supposed they probably had the most reason. As they reached the gates the Enclave-wide public address system suddenly came to life, with a very familiar voice.

"Attention. All chattel, the forcefields are down and your trackers are turned off. All Jantuc, the forcefield generators are on critical overload, and this cannot be reversed. Everyone has 92 minutes to evacuate the Enclave. Have a nice day."

Jack couldn't help a smile, despite the severity of the situation. "We running now?" asked Shaku.

Jack turned to him. "Good luck Shaku. Nice knowing you."

"You going back Doctor finding," said Shaku, unsurprised.

"I have to."

"Sticking neck out getting chopped off," said Shaku. He pulled Jack into a quick hug before running off down the street.

A Jantuc troop car came around the corner, and the chattel scattered. There were screams, and shots rang out. Jack knew he couldn't help them, both he and the Doctor had known there would be casualties, so he ran quickly into the quarters, ending up at his bunk.

He pulled something out from under the mattress, a leather satchel, and lifted up a loose floorboard underneath the bunk, pulling out a box full of the Doctor's herbal medicines. He took a selection of them, stuffing them into the satchel, and then left the room.

The Doctor finished his message, as a pounding began on the sealed door. He had been hoping they would be a little slower to respond, but knew it had always been a long shot. He stood and faced the door, which was eventually forced open. Jantuc poured into the room, pointing guns at him. The High Priest entered, and looked down his nose. "Chattel," he said contemptuously.

The Doctor returned the hauteur look for look. "Timelord," he corrected.

Jack's next stop was on the way back to Central Control. He had noticed more cars in the street all the time, and most of these seemed to be heading in the direction of the spaceport. Now he crouched in the shadows outside the Temple Storehouse, which seemed strangely peaceful and quiet compared to the pandemonium currently raging in the rest of the Enclave. He knew from his accessing of the computer less than a week before that at this time there would be one guard only inside, but he didn't know where in the building to find him.

However luck, this time, was on Jack's side. The public address once again activated, with the voice of the High Priest. "My children. There is no cause for this alarm. The chattel uprising will be quelled shortly. As for the lies you have heard, there is no danger. We are the chosen ones, and cannot be harmed by plots of the Dark One. The saboteur has been arrested, and will pay. Return to your homes."

Jack, realising that 'the saboteur' could only mean the Doctor, wondered how much time he had left, if the Doctor would be executed out of hand, if he'd regenerate, and what the Jantuc would make of that. He remembered how angry the Doctor had been with him a few days before, and wished he had taken his own advice. The door to the storehouse opened, and the guard emerge, leaving the door open behind appeared to be in two minds about the message, torn between believing his spiritual leader and fleeing to the spaceport. While he stood lost in thought, Jack came out of the darkness and punched him. The Jantuc went down, still conscious, but Jack quickly snatched the baton from his belt and clubbed him over the head with it. The Jantuc went limp. "I've waited two months to do that," Jack told him, "and damn it felt good!" He relieved the unconscious guard of the gun he also carried, and entered the storehouse at a run.


	11. Chapter 11

Jack returned cautiously through the blacked out streets. The pandemonium of earlier seemd to have petered out. He saw no chattel in the streets, and the cars were few and far between. But the ground shook from the ships taking off from the spaceport almost continuously, the noise they made competing with the increasingly high pitched whine coming from the power generators. It appeared that the majority of the Jantuc had decided to take the evidence of the situation over their High Priest's assertions after all.

Jack knew, however, that he couldn't expect Central Control to be deserted. The die-hards would be there, maybe some engineers still trying to fix the problem. He wasn't too worried about pending repairs, however, remembering the Doctor's slightly mischievous expression when they'd questioned him about it, and his response, "When I break something, it stays broken."

Central Control was dark and looked deserted. Jack went to the kitchen entrance they'd exited less than an hour before, finding the door still open. He went in cautiously, and then stood at a loss for a moment, wondering how to proceed. He remembered suddenly what the Doctor and others had said about cells at Central Control, where occasionally those who had committed extremely serious (to the Jantuc) infractions would be taken (such as assaulting a guard, or tampering with the computers). Such chattel would never be seen again. Rumour talked about dungeons on the lower level, and Jack assumed they were just rumours, until the Doctor revealed casually one day that in examining the plans for the building he had come across the cells and they were indeed in the basement. This had led the doctor to discuss at great length how funny it was that across so many different cultures cells were nearly always underground, before moving from this to the exceptions to the rule, ending up in a wildly improbable story concerning a prison in Renaissance Venice that Jack didn't believe a word of. Of course that hadn't been long after he arrived, when the Doctor could still babble with the best of them, at least some of the time.

Jack started looking for stairs, while keeping an ear out for Jantuc. Almost immediately he found the stairs he could hear several Jantuc descending from an upstairs floor. Jack quickly went down the flight towards the basement, pausing on the landing to listen. They talked as they headed towards the door about how the power surges were out of control and they were leaving while they still could. The engineers are giving up, thought Jack. More rats deserting the sinking ship. He continued his descent down the stairs.

At the bottom he found himself facing what reminded him of a custody desk at a police station, with a corridor and a row of doors to his left. He heard footsteps, and hid behind the desk. Two Jantuc came up the corridor, furtively looking behind them. "I'm not staying here with a demon," Jack heard one of them say, as they ran up the stairs. He heard a voice echoing down the corridor, though he could not catch the worlds. Seconds later there was a scream. Jack started to move quickly and quietly down the corridor.

About half way down he spotted an open door, and crept silently towards it, hearing the Jantuc speak again. He realised, not surprised, that it was the High Priest. "Confess your sins, demon," he said. ""You were sent by the Lord of Darkness to destroy the servants of the Lord of the Spaces."

"OK," Jack heard the Doctor reply, though his voice sounded so weak and shaky Jack could barely make it out. "Fine. I'm a demon."

"I knew it!" said the priest triumphantly. Obviously no understanding of irony, Jack thought. "Undo what you have done," the high priest demanded.

"Sorry, can't be done," murmured the Doctor. "When I break something, it stays broken." There was a sizzle, and the Doctor screamed again.

Jack glanced cautiously through the door, and ascertaining that the Jantuc was alone, stepped through openly, gun in hand. The priest turned. He held one of the charged prods that Jack had seen on his first day on the planet, though apparently set to a much higher level than had been used on him. Must run on batteries, Jack thought, considering the power outage. "Drop it," was all he said.

The high priest sneered. "Chattel."

"Chattel with a gun," Jack pointed out. "Drop it."

The priest laughed. "You cannot hurt me, animal! I am protected by the Lord of the Spaces." He stabbed the prod at Jack, who promptly shot him.

"Not without your armour, you're not," he told the body, which he then stepped over and went to the Doctor. The Doctor's arms were restrained above his head, with his feet barely touching the floor. Jack was thankful to note that there were only a few burns on the Doctor's body, realising that they must have only just started. He dug something out of the satchel he still carried, and pointed it at the restraints. There was a hum, and the restraints popped open, with the Doctor falling forward into Jack's arms.

"Hello," said Jack, easing him to the floor.

"Thought I told you to leave," gasped the Doctor.

"You also said you'd catch me up," Jack retorted.

"Oh, that."

"Brought you something," said Jack, pressing it into his hands.

The Doctor stared bemusedly at what he was holding, while Jack stood up and looked around the cell, finally locating the Doctor's clothes bundled up in a corner. "My sonic screwdriver," he said in wonder. "How?"

"Looked it up on the computer that day at the factory. Thought it might come in handy." He knelt back down next to the Doctor. "How long have we got?"

"59 minutes."

"We'd better get moving." He helped the Doctor to dress, and quickly searched the body of the high priest, removing another gun and a knife. He noticed the coat that the Jantuc must have been wearing laid over a bench near the door. He handed it to the Doctor. "Put this on."

"Why?" asked the Doctor.

"Because you're shivering."

"Really?" said the Doctor in surprise. "I didn't notice. Must be shock."

They went down the corridor to the stairs. The Doctor began to pull himself up using the rails, with Jack walking slightly ahead with his gun out. "So how come," Jack asked, "I get called an animal, and you get to be a demon?"

"Innate superiority?" guessed the Doctor.


	12. Chapter 12

Dawn broke, and the flames from the Enclave faded into the day. The Jantuc clearance of land around the confines of the Enclave had ensured that the fire did not spread to the forests, so the refugees were able to move at a reasonable pace as they fanned out in all directions.

One group made the banks of the river at about the same time the sun rose, and paused to rest amid the trees that grew right up to the river's edge. The group comprised about twenty people, a mixture of Tehanu and other escapees. During the night they had seen a few Jantuc ships flying over and shooting at the fleeing chattel, so all the group were wary of emerging from under the shelter of the trees.

Jack and a few of the others walked down to the edge of the trees and looked at the river. "This group of Tehanu come from the coast," said one of them. "At least I think that's what they're saying. They say we can go with them." He looked at Jack. "You're not coming, are you?"

Jack shook his head, and looked upstream, towards the mountains which loomed depressingly high overhead.

"So what's up there?" asked the man.

Jack shrugged, unwilling to mention the TARDIS. "I'm following him." He indicated the Doctor, who was at this moment sitting nearby, deep in conversation with one of the Tehanu elders, while a few others stood behind, watching. Jack thought they had the look of a delegation, and approached.

As he got near he saw the Doctor shake his head in response to something the Tehanu had said, and the woman suddenly bowed forward with her head on the ground, with all the delegation following suit. "Oh, don't do that, please," said the Doctor, obviously distressed.

"What's the matter?" asked Jack.

"They want us to go with them, and they think the mountains are haunted." Jack digested this, as the Doctor pulled the elder up from her bow, and said something else to her. The woman seized his hand and kissed it, and the Doctor looked embarrassed.

Jack couldn't help but laugh, and the Doctor glared at him. "Why don't you tell them the gods have called us into the mountains, or something?" he suggested.

"You're not helping, Jack!" replied the Doctor, exasperated.

Jack shrugged. "I don't know, Doc, maybe we should stay with them for a while. This trip's going to be tough, and neither of us is in the best shape."

"It's late autumn," said the Doctor. "In the winter the mountains will be impassable. It'll be another six months before we can even attempt this. Oh, and that's six months their time, about eighteen months Earth time. Do you really want to wait that long?"

Jack sighed, and shook his head. "Anyway," the Doctor continued, "the Tehanu lifestyle has been completely disrupted by the Jantuc. They're going to have a hard winter."

One of the other Tehanu approached Jack, bowed, and addressed a comment to him. "What's he saying?"

The Doctor, grinning maliciously, obligingly translated. "Please, Magic Jack, bless us with your presence. Persuade the Healer to give us his wisdom." It was Jack's turn to look embarrassed.

They were interrupted at that moment by one of the other refugees, shouting, "Jantuc!" even as a ship zoomed overhead.

"They'll have heat sensors!" said Jack, as the others fled back from the river bank.

One of the Tehanu said something to the Doctor, and pointed, even as his companions began to run in the indicated direction. "Follow them!" the Doctor called to the rest. "Everybody follow them!"

They fled through the wood, even as the ship opened fire, and one of the trees burst into flame. Jack stayed at the rear, hurrying along the stragglers, while in front one of the Tehanu suddenly disappeared from view. The rest realised that there was an opening in the ground, virtually unseen until you were right in front of it. The Tehanu unhesitatingly followed their companion, so the rest did the same.

The Doctor stayed at the entrance. "Move, Jack!" he yelled, as Jack stopped to help a man who'd tripped. There was another blast, and a scream. The Doctor swore, and ran towards them. They were both dead, so the Doctor grabbed Jack's arms and started dragging his body towards the hole.

Two of the others ran towards them. "He's dead, leave him!" said one.

The other, a Tehanu, looked puzzled. "Help me," said the Doctor, so the Tehanu took Jack's other arm.

Down the hole they found it was the entrance to a cave, small and now crowded. "This won't keep us hidden from their sensors," somebody said.

One of the Tehanu tapped the Doctor on the sleeve and spoke. "Really?" said the Doctor. He dug his sonic screwdriver out from the pocket of the Jantuc coat he was still wearing, and scanned the ground overhead. "The Tehanu say they found at the start when they were under the ground the Jantuc couldn't see them," he whispered to the rest. "Seems there's a mineral element in the topsoil that blocks sensors." He adjusted the screwdriver again, and scanned out through the opening. "They've landed the craft on the river. They're coming this way, about a dozen. We have to be very quiet." He quickly translated this for the Tehanu, and returned to Jack's side.

He watched Jack's body, as the smoking charred hole in his torso began to restore itself. The Jantuc stopped metres away from their hiding place, and stood talking. The Doctor listened to the voices while continuing to eye Jack's nearly restored body uneasily. He felt the temporal 'hiccup' that always immediately preceded Jack's revivals, and clamped a hand across his mouth. Jack's eyes snapped open, frantic when he found he couldn't breathe in, and the Doctor laid a finger to his lips. Jack nodded, and the Doctor let go, Jack trying to breathe silently and slowly, while everyone else in the cave stared at them in shock.

After about ten minutes of milling around, the Jantuc returned to the ship, but nobody moved from the cave until they could no longer hear the ship. "Sorry," said the Doctor.

"It's ok," said Jack. He tried to get up, then thought better of it. "I think I'll just lie here for a bit."

"Good plan."

"What's to stop them coming back, taking us prisoner again?" someone asked.

It was Jack who responded. "That would mean having to admit to themselves that they were defeated, and they'd never do that. They'll settle elsewhere, rewrite their own history, and insist that the Lord of the Spaces told them to move. They'll never mention this again." The Tehanu were whispering, and they heard the distinct sound of 'Banorjack'. "They're doing it again, aren't they?" he asked the Doctor, who nodded. Jack groaned. "Definitely time we were going."

Over a week later, in the foothills, the river raged down through rapids, a torrential downpour contributing to the ferocity of the water. The rain was icy, and under an overhanging rock the Doctor and Jack were sitting side by side under the Jantuc coat. The Doctor coughed. "We should look on the bright side," said Jack through chattering teeth. "We'll never run out of water." The Doctor smiled, then coughed again. Jack looked at him worriedly. "Steak," he said.

"Where?" asked the Doctor, looking around.

"That's the first meal I'm going to have when we get back. A big, juicy steak, medium rare. You?"

"Chips," said the Doctor.

Jack laughed. "What is it with you and chips?"

"I like chips," said the Doctor. "Of course, we're both starving, so we'd probably be sick if we tried to eat that."

"You take all the fun out of fantasizing."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok," said Jack. He sighed. "Wish this rain would stop."

Days passed. As evening fell one day, the Doctor was preparing a fire, which he lit with the sonic screwdriver. Jack was out foraging. The Doctor huddled over the flames, coughing and clutching his chest. He heard Jack returning, and straightened up. Jack approached and sat down heavily. "That feels good." He produced a handful of berries. "That was all there was on the bush. I couldn't find anything else."

They ate in silence, then the Doctor said. "There's some good news."

"Really?" Jack suddenly realised the Doctor was actually looking happy.

"I can feel her," he said.

"The TARDIS?" Jack exclaimed.

The Doctor nodded. "She's close now. We're nearly there."

He started to cough again, and Jack watched him in concern. "Do Timelords get pneumonia?" he asked.

"It's possible," said the Doctor, wheezing. "Never mind me, how are your feet?"

Jack removed one of the tattered remnants of shoe gingerly, and inspected his toes, which were taking on a black appearance. "It's official, it's frostbite. Don't worry, they'll get better. They did last time." He shook his head at the Doctor's curious look. "Long story."

"Take some of the pain medication," the Doctor said. Jack took one of the pouches, and limped over to the river. After putting some of the herbs in his mouth dry, he washed them down with some water. "More," the Doctor called.

"We shouldn't waste it," objected Jack.

"More!" the Doctor insisted.

"Alright, alright." He took some more. "You're such a nag."

He returned to the fire, to see the Doctor taking a pinch of herbs from one of the other bags. "Is that helping?"

"A little."

Jack took off the coat, and they both lay down next to the fire, Jack spreading the coat over both of them. "Alone at last."

"Stop it."

"You've got a fever," said Jack.

"I know."

Twenty days after the Enclave exploded, the Doctor and Jack, after climbing a particularly rocky and slippery slope, collapsed on a level ground to rest. Suddenly the Doctor tapped Jack on the shoulder, and pointed. Jack looked, and burst into breathless and slightly hysterical laughter. "Oh, that's a beautiful sight."

The TARDIS stood a short distance away. They both staggered to their feet, holding onto each other for balance, and made their way to the door. The Doctor knelt and started to dig at the soil, unearthing the key moments later. Jack helped him up, he unlocked the door, and they were inside.

The interior was dim as they entered, but within moments the light grew and the temperature warmed, as if the ship was sensing how cold they were. "Hello beautiful," said Jack grinning foolishly. The Doctor, not speaking, went over to the console, and laid his hands on it, not moving for several moments. Jack didn't interrupt, instead taking off the Jantuc coat, and the satchel, which he placed to one side of the door, after which he limped over to the seat and sat down. The Doctor was typing something into the machine, a transmission, Jack realised, which he then sent. "What was that?"

"To the authorities on Venza, letting them know what's happened. They'll send ships to take off the survivors, and leave the Tehanu in peace." He looked up. "Cardiff?"

"Cardiff," Jack agreed.

"Morning after you left?"

"Sounds good," said Jack. "And no rushing off, all right? Not until you're well enough to travel."

"I already agreed, remember?"

"Just reminding you," said Jack.

"Anyone would think you don't trust me," said the Doctor, and paused in the middle of setting coordinates to lean over the console, coughing. Jack jumped up guiltily and went to help.

"Ready?" whispered the Doctor after a few moments.

"Very," said Jack.

"Goodbye sunny Tehanu." The TARDIS dematerialised.


	13. Chapter 13

The Torchwood group were gathered together for a meeting in the conference room, on the fourth morning since Jack's disappearance. The mood was subdued as Tosh reported once again that the equipment she'd left at the site of the wormhole showed no signs of its reappearance.

"Maybe it can appear anywhere," said Gwen. "Is there anything to say it has to be the same spot?"

"No," said Tosh reluctantly.

"Well," said Owen, "we do have other work to do." He was met with a chorus of protests. "We don't know where he is," he pointed out. "We can't help him."

Martha had been given permission to stay by her UNIT superiors for a short while, and was still a little surprised they'd let her into the Hub without Jack around to vouch for her. She didn't think either Tosh or Gwen were too keen on the idea, however Owen and Ianto seemed fine with it, and as Owen had been left in charge that was the end of it. She had to confess, however, that Owen was quite right. Jack seemed, like the Doctor, to be gone beyond reach or help. She was just thinking that she should really return to UNIT, when the first faint sounds of a materialising TARDIS echoed through the Hub. She thought she was imagining it, until she realised all the others were looking around.

"What the hell is that?" demanded Owen.

"It's the Doctor," said Martha, jumping up. The others followed her out of the room.

"Hang on, isn't he supposed to be scary and dangerous?" Gwen muttered.

"Don't care if he can help us find Jack," Ianto said.

Martha froze in surprise on the stairs, with the others behind her, when the first person who exited the TARDIS was a gaunt, bearded scarecrow it took them a few moments to recognise. "Jack?" said Gwen, tentatively.

He looked up at them and grinned. "Hi kids, did you miss me?"

Another even skinnier scarecrow emerged behind him. "Piece of cake," said the Doctor.

"How long?" Jack asked the group, all still standing stupidly on the stairs.

"Four days," said Owen numbly.

"Er … wasn't that supposed to be one?" Jack asked the Doctor.

"Oops," said the Doctor faintly, before sitting down on the floor just where he was, and coughing.

"Good idea," said Jack, and followed suit, leaning back against the side of the TARDIS and stretching out his legs with a wince.

It was the sight of his bloodstained feet coupled with the Doctor's painful cough that finally propelled the surprised group into action. Owen and Martha led the way, by unspoken agreement Owen taking Jack and Martha going to the Doctor. Ianto disappeared, returning with Owen's medical bag, and disappeared again when Martha added an order for oxygen. Owen asked Gwen to fetch blankets.

"How the hell do you get in this condition in four days, Jack?" demanded Owen.

"Time travel," said Jack. Owen frowned at him. "How long?"

"Three months, give or take."

Owen gingerly took off one of the tattered shoes, and looked at Jack's feet with commendable calm. "You've got frostbite."

"Dr Harper, you're a genius," grinned Jack.

Gwen appeared with two blankets. Martha grabbed one and wrapped it around the Doctor, then placed a hand on his chest while he coughed. "Do Timelords get pneumonia?" she asked him.

Jack answered. "Already asked him that, he said yes."

"How the hell did you get frostbite, Harkness?" snapped Owen.

"Mountain climbing," said Jack. "It was a bit cold."

"Nice views, though," wheezed the Doctor.

"True," said Jack with a laugh. "Relax, Owen, my feet will be fine in a day or two."

"Antibiotics," said Martha. "Can you take them?"

"Wouldn't help," the Doctor whispered, as Ianto returned. "Take some blood. Blood analyser in TARDIS med unit, will give you right drug and dosage. Would have done it myself, but …."

"It's alright," said Martha, fitting the mask over his face. "I'll take care of it."

A little over an hour later, Ianto was in the small kitchen, watching the kettle boil. There had been a flurry of activity, the two sick men whisked off to the medical unit, cleaned up, and put to bed. Martha had taken blood from the alien (the Doctor, Ianto reminded himself) and disappeared into the TARDIS, now emerging and hurrying past Ianto with something that looked like a hypodermic in her hand. Ianto carefully prepared a cup of tea, using the instinct he was barely aware of that said to him that the Doctor wanted, no, needed tea right now. He was considering his feelings, trying to be objective. Part of him wanted to go and hold Jack and look after him. The other part wanted to take him by his shoulders and shake him for getting himself dragged through a wormhole when he promised, he _promised _he'd stay. And now look at him! He'd obviously gone wherever the Doctor had sent that dreadful message from and gotten himself into just as dreadful a state. Three months, he'd said! Had he even thought about Ianto when he was off getting into trouble? Not likely!

Ianto knew he was being unreasonable, but he also knew he'd get over his anger shortly, leaving only the concern behind. So for the moment, he thought as he picked up the tray he'd placed the tea on, it won't hurt to let him know I'm not pleased.

He entered the medical unit, the sound of Owen still haranguing Jack covering his entrance. He ignored them, going immediately to the other bed, placed in an upright position apparently to assist breathing, where the other patient lay, an oxygen mask still over his face. Ianto regarded him silently for a moment, trying to match the gaunt and feverish patient in front of him with the man he'd seen once before, at Torchwood 1, standing unarmed and surrounded by soldiers and still managing to make Hartmann look stupid. Thoughts of that day weren't thoughts he liked to dwell on, so he pushed them firmly away. "Tea, sir?"

The Doctor's eyes snapped open. He stared at Ianto in surprise for a moment, then nodded slightly. Ianto, realising he would need help, put down the cup beside the bed, and helped the Doctor remove the oxygen mask, handing him the cup and ensuring he had a proper hold of it before letting go. The sick alien took a sip, and his eyes widened in surprise as he looked up at Ianto. "It's wonderful," he whispered. "Thank you."

"My pleasure, sir," said Ianto, still studiously ignoring the occupant of the other bed, whose eyes he could feel boring into his skull. Instead he waited patiently while the Doctor finished the cup, before taking it from him and replacing the oxygen mask.

"Don't I get a coffee?" came Jack's voice from behind him.

As Ianto turned to face him, Owen snapped, "I told you, Harkness, no caffeine."

Perfect, thought Ianto maliciously. "One cup of decaf coming right up, sir," he said calmly, and left. That'll fix him, he thought in satisfaction.

Only a day later, Martha was sighing, "How did I know you were going to be a bad patient?"

The Doctor, who she had tracked down in the TARDIS, jumped guiltily. "I'm feeling a lot better," he rasped, and coughed.

"Sure you are," said Martha. "What are you doing, anyway?"

He had been fiddling with a machine in an obscure corner of the med unit, and as Martha asked the question, something began to materialise on a plate on the top. The Doctor picked up the glasses, and put them on. "Perfect!" he declared, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Bored?" asked Martha.

"Well at least I can read now," the Doctor pointed out, as she took his arm and virtually dragged him out of the TARDIS. "Assuming there's anything around here worth reading," he added, looking around the Hub curiously.

"I'll raid your library for you as soon as you're back in bed," Martha promised.

"Caught him, did you?" said Jack, idly channel surfing in the Torchwood medical unit.

"I'm surprised you haven't absconded," Martha said, guiding the Doctor back to bed.

"Not me, sweetheart, I'm enjoying the break."

The Doctor had started wheezing again, so Martha put the oxygen mask back on as soon as she got him to lie down. "Please stay put," she said. "Please, as a favour?"

He smiled at her. "Didn't mean to worry you," he croaked, patting her hand.

She smiled, and left. Jack and the Doctor's eyes met.

"You can see it in their eyes," said Jack. "All the questions. Where were you? What happened?"

The Doctor pushed the oxygen mask off. "So what are you going to tell them?"

"Why is it me who has to tell them?" Jack objected.

"They're your team."

Jack sighed. "I … kind of promised them I wouldn't keep things from them anymore. I just don't know how …"

The Doctor shrugged. "No point asking me. You know how bad I am at that sort of thing." He put the oxygen mask back on and shut his eyes.

"Chicken," said Jack.

The Doctor smiled, his eyes remaining firmly shut.

Four days later Jack, who other than still being rather underweight seemed completely recovered, called a meeting. The Torchwood gathered around the conference table, except for Martha, who stood at the glass wall and looked down into the main Hub, where the wormhole generator had been brought out of storage and placed on a worktable. The Doctor sat at the table, but didn't seem to be doing anything other than staring at the machine and toying with his sonic screwdriver, still coughing every so often. He shouldn't be up yet, Martha thought.

"Martha?" said Jack.

"Sorry," she said, and took her place at the table, glancing in curiosity at the large pad in front of him.

Jack looked around at all of them, not quite knowing where to begin. "OK. You've got questions. I can tell you that the wormhole originated on a planet called Tehan, which is a long way from here. The aliens that came through the wormhole, the Jantuc, are no longer in possession of the technology that created it, so will not be coming back to this planet … not in your lifetimes anyway."

Owen pointed down towards the main area. "How can that be the thing that created the wormhole? We had that three weeks before the aliens arrived."

"You'll remember the Rift fluctuations at the time the device turned up? There were temporal distortions, so the wormhole was pulled back in time."

"So, the device arrived by a wormhole that was activated later than the wormhole we observed?" said Tosh, obviously fascinated. Jack nodded.

"This is making my head ache," complained Gwen.

"The Doctor allowed these people to take him prisoner to get the machine away from them?" asked Martha, and Jack nodded again.

"Why should he care?" asked Owen.

"He had his reasons," said Jack.

"Doesn't that mean," asked Gwen, jumping in before Owen could respond, "that you were there when the machine was sent through?"

"Yes," said Jack.

"Did you help him steal it?" Jack nodded. "But …" Gwen trailed off.

Jack grinned. "I filmed the message."

They all gaped at him. "You're the one behind the camera?" Tosh exclaimed.

"Well that gives deja vu a whole new meaning," Owen commented.

"Tell me about it," said Jack. He looked around. "Any other questions?"

"What happened to you?" asked Ianto.

"Both of you," added Martha.

Jack nodded, and picked up the sketch book. His next words were clinical, as if he were writing a report, but he decided that this was the only way to proceed he could cope with. "This is a sketch book with drawings done at the Jantuc enclave of the Siphi Chapter on Tehan. The artist has depicted most aspects of life for the Jantuc prisoners, whom they referred to as chattel. Some of the drawings are unpleasant." He paused. "I want you to remember that what you see would have been what happened to any humans the Jantuc would have taken. It is solely due to the Doctor that they were prevented from returning."

"What happened to the artist?" asked Gwen as Jack headed for the door.

He didn't look around. "She died."

He descended the stairs, and joined the Doctor at the table.

"How did it go?" asked the Doctor.

"They're looking at the book," Jack replied. "Have you decided?"

"Dismantle it, I think," said the Doctor. "Safer that way."

Jack nodded, and they got to work. "Does it bother you that you're in the book?" Jack asked after a while.

"I'd have said if it did. Anyway, you're in the book too."

Jack shrugged. "I wish … I'd have liked a picture of her." The Doctor glanced up, but didn't reply. "Uh oh," said Jack a few minutes later. "Don't look up, we're being watched."

"I know," murmured the Doctor.

"I don't mind, so long as that's the end of the subject." Jack did look up then, grinning and waving at the row of faces looking down from the conference room.

"What about Ianto?" asked the Doctor without looking up. "Will you talk to him about it?"

"Possibly," said Jack. "Probably. Yes." He smiled a little ruefully, before deciding to change the subject. "Doc, did you find it?"

"Find what?"

"The name of the planet with the Timelord cache." The Doctor paused in his work, but didn't respond. "Are you going alone?"

"Are you asking to come?"

"Could be dangerous." The Doctor laughed, and after a moment Jack joined in.

"It's not your problem, Jack."

"Does it have to be yours?"

The Doctor looked surprised. "Yes it does."

Jack piled the bits of machine into a box. "TARDIS?"

"Yes, thanks."

He started to go, then stopped and turned, as the conference room door opened. "I can't stop you going alone, but I'm offering to watch your back. Your choice."

THE END


End file.
